Cinderella Story [Wriothesley x Reader]

Page 7 - I

The sisters snatch the shoe away

to not have any more delay,

to try it on

and show the prince

that they're the one.

╼❅╾

There is always that one drop that finally breaks the surface tension and results in the barrel finally overflowing. That one tiny, single drop that doesn't have much power by itself. But just the fact that it's added to this huge amount of countless other tiny drops is what changes everything.

For you, that tiny drop that was falling, ready to hit the surface, wasn't even one – it was more of a whole shower of water.

You didn't know it was coming and neither did they. Of course not, how would they expect it when you've done nothing but bear all that they had done to you from the moment they had entered your life up until not. But today would be different.

Not suspecting anything you arrived home after visiting Estelle once more, to calm down from the stress of having your sisters find out about Wriothesley. You should have known that nothing good would come of it. You should've expected it and ran. With all your belongings.

But you didn't, and the price you had to pay was a big one.

When you entered the house, you didn't hear much. The servants were not here at the moment and you thought no one else was as well. Until you heard the noise from the living room. A pair of scissors, cutting. The dread manifested in you long before you even knew what was going on. As if your subconsciousness knew more than you, as if it could see into the future. Your steps felt heavy.

Another sound cut through the air. The scissors were well maintained, judging from the clear and sharp sound. You walked towards the source. Turning around the corner, you could already see Hematitia, working on something. There were a few things bright red, burning themselves into your eyes.

Hematitia's fingernails as well as the fabric scissors she was holding. And the dress form in the middle of the room – with your late mother's wedding dress, pinned to it with needles, because it would fall off if it weren't. The parts of the dress were not connected anymore.

The seams were not the only things that had been cut, the whole skirt had been reduced to slimmer pieces, with scraps lying on the floor, surrounding the scene. The time that it took for you to take in the whole situation was the same that Hematitia needed to notice your presence.

"Ah, good timing," she said, throwing the piece of while lace she had just cut to the floor. "I need to discuss something with you."

You stood frozen in the doorway. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm altering the dress a bit. I want to make it a new style, so it can fit her better."

"Her?" You felt light-headed, like this situation wasn't even real.

"There's been a change of plans. The girls talked to me, and I changed my mind." Your stepmother smiled at you, but it wasn't genuine. It didn't reach her eyes. "Rosalith's going to marry the Duke instead of you."

"She isn't." You stepped forward, into the room, still numb.

"Yes, she is. Aren't you glad you won't be married off anymore?" Now she had the audacity to grin at you, like she was doing you a favor. "Well, since you won't need the dress anymore now, we've decided to alter it a bit."